2030 Olympics: Scourge vs Catechism (Gladiatorial Combat)
Nepsan Polar Glacier Peaking high in the sky, there is not much to do on the Polar Glacier of Nepsa. Occasionally, one can hear strange whispers - whether these are echoes floating on the breeze, or something far more sinister, remains undetermined. Compasses spin from the magnetic force of the pole. At night, points on the glacier seem to glow from beneath, giving the whole mountain an eerie atmosphere that cannot be easily disregarded. The natives seem unable to bring themselves to scale it - they speak of the glacier in hushed reverence, refusing even to assign it a name. Could this place be more - much more - than meets the eye? XF-35B Astral Lightning is out overflying the Nepsan Polar Glacier, her more sensitive alternate mode scouting sensors engaged. She remembers that not is all as it seems out here, as Cyclonus himself showed her. Beneath the ice are caverns that show that this world has a history in common with her own planet - Cybertron. If they was a way up, there must be a way down, and perhaps with some time off due to the Olympics, she can finally find it... Cutting through the air like a knife, comes the sleek and deadly vehile known as a Sweepcraft. Larger and more armoured than the others of it's kind, this deadly Decepticon is no mere pack-mate; He is the vicious, cunning leader of the Sweeps, and he intends to prove it. His tracking ability, enhanced by a vast array of sensors, is second to none, and it is that skill that brings him here, to this cold, forbidding place. Because here Scourge will find his quarry, and rip her apart with his bare hands. Catechism will suffer for her sins. XF-35B Astral Lightning is absorbed by staring down at the glacier beneath her, searching for any trace of a cavern or cave, or even a slight depression that may have been filled in by snow. She has no idea that SCOURGE, like a vast predatory bird, is lurking in the chill air above her, waiting to strike. Situational awareness have never been her strogn point, but will it prove to be her undoing now? The giant 'laser' known to the galaxy as Shockwave lacks Scourge's rage, his killing instinct, but is equal in tenacity. In the interest of conserving sensor energy, Shockwave has elected simply to follow Scourge and observe his performance where-ever he may run his quarry to ground. Faint vapor trails and even fainter energy signatures lead Scourge to glide over the harsh, frozen wasteland, following the trail of the Decepticon Catechism. Catechism was not too difficult to locate once Scourge had reached the glacier, heat signature alone would cause her to light up against the icy surroundings... The difficult part was narrowing down thhe list of which of the Nepsan planets or moons she would be on. His insight has paid off, as the Sweepcraft swoops down towards the XF-35B Astral Lightning that seems to be viewing the glacier, oblivious to Scourge's hot pursuit. Sensors now change from detection to analyzation, as Scourge scans the Decepticon jet for signs of weakness. "CATECHISM! This glacier you so admire will be your icy TOMB!" Combat: Scourge analyzes Catechism for weaknesses. XF-35B Astral Lightning is altered to the fact that Scourge is out to murder her by the fact that he yells about doing so, loudly. Is it just her, or did it get even colder out here, suddenly? She thinks her lithium lines might be icing over. Flying cautiously, she banks up for a far pass by Scourge, to get an idea of the true nature of the fearsome Sweep Lord, even as he is likely taking advantage of her jitters to locate her own weaknesses. She calls back, voice rather brittle, "Ah... sir. This is about our match, right?" She looks over at Shockwave, now noticing him, too, and she hopes fervently that this /is/ about the match. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Catechism analyzes Scourge for weaknesses Catechism can exploit. "The MATCH means little to me, Catechism. It is merely an /excuse/ for me to teach you a lesson that is long in the making!" Scourge's raspy voice can be heard, shouting from inside the weapons tower atop his Sweepcraft mode. His radar and other sensors keep a strong bead on Catechism's position, even as the jet flies past him. The sweepcraft banks to follow, but Scourge has no intention of remaining on this mode for long... Catechism's defeat will be up close and personal. The hull of the ship splits to become Scourge's spread wings, and the Sweep lunges towards Catechism's jet mode, lashing out with his clawed fingers to rip her wings to shreds. The sleek Sweepcraft becomes Scourge, the tracker! Combat: Scourge sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Scourge strikes XF-35B Astral Lightning with his Clawed Assault attack! -3 Combat: Removing analysis data for XF-35B Astral Lightning . Shockwave undergoes an extremely simple transformation to become a giant flying space "laser." XF-35B Astral Lightning decides that maybe she should aim for the laser on Scourge's head, based off what her scouting sensors tell her. It looks like getting hit there would hurt. However, as she is debating where to hit Scourge, she is too distracted to evade, and he tears her wings to shreads. With a screech, she transforms to get away from him, sky-diving for a fleeting moment in the frosty air, before summoning her trusty electric whip. Catechism flips her fall over and snaps the whip up at the top of Scourge's head. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Guarded. Shoxcannon hovers there, observing impassively with that big translucent scope thing. "My presence is as you say, 'about the match,'" he intones. "Scourge has his own reasons to prove himself, after... recent lapses." Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Whip To The Head-Laser attack! -4 Combat: You took 10 damage. Scourge's head-laser, one of the many hallmarks of the Sweeps, begins to crackle with sparks as it's casing and lenses are cracked by Catechism's electric whip. Scourge's lip peels back in a sneer, but no noise escapes his mouth, no snarls of indignation nor cries of pain. He regards Catechism calmly, studiously, waiting for a chance to strike. As Catechism reels back in her whip, Scourge sweeps his broad wings and dives in close, lashing out at Catechism's cone with a balled-up fist. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his cone-knocker (Punch) attack! Catechism is not overly reassured by Shockwave's words, but then, Shockwave is a spacegun warlord, not a pre-school teacher. If he was reassuring, that would totally defeat the point. She has little time to rejoice over her hit to to his head, because he strikes right at her pride and joy - her cone! Catechism blurts, "Gaaaaah!" She finally finishes her fall by impacting into a deep snow bank. It partially conceals her, but it also makes it really hard for her to see out. She flails about, sending a sheet of ice flying at Scourge. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Catechism misses Scourge with her Flying Sheet of Ice (Kick) attack! "There are rumblings among the troops," drones the floating orbital artillery piece. "It has been widely intimated, and in some instances claimed outright, that the sweeps in general and Scourge in particular no longer deserve their long-held position at Great Galvatron's side. That they have become laughingstocks, decadent, degraded, hidden away in their private dwelling where they engage in bizarre and filthy perversions, better left unmentioned in detail, of which they would be grossly ashamed if these activities were to come to light. Scourge has been decried as a coward, a weakling, an ineffectual and effete eccentric who cringes over games for Earthling children rather than defend his reputation, even when it is directly challenged and derided by such a contemptible buffoon as Thrust." He adjusts his orientation to follow the battle. "In short, Scourge has much to prove. And as you are among our most capable Seekers, and the Seekers are said to have thrown down the Sweeps, you are the only logical choice for Scourge's demonstration... or perhaps, his final test." Swoop has arrived. WUMPH. Blueshift appears beside Shockwave. "But should you lose!" he warns Catechism. "You will be turned INTO a Sweep!" "As you can see," Shockwave adds, "the stakes are not insignificant." Blueshift holds up a headlaser and a set of verniers Shoxcannon turns a bit to regard the suddenly arriving Blueshift. "I think Chief Engineer Scrapper was expecting a more extensive conversion than..." He remembers who he is talking to and pauses, restarting. "Did you bring sufficient tape?" Blueshift holds up a large reel of duck tape. "Extra strong, sir!" Scourge's steady gaze watches Catechism's plunge into the snow below with cold fascination, unamused by her ineffective flailing. The sheet of ice poses Scourge no threat, as he plucks it out of the air, his razor-sharp claws giving him easy purchase to grip the slick ice. Shockwave's voice does not fall on deaf ears, although Scourge shows no outward sign he has heard the logical one's demeaning speech. His claws sink deeper into the ice, and he gloweres down at Catechism. "Pay them no heed. This is between YOU and I, and I would not have my victory soiled if you to be distracted by thier ramblings." He sends the chunk of ice flying back where it came, trying to pierce Catechism's body with the frozen projectile. Combat: Scourge misses Catechism with his Frozen Pointy Death attack! -2 Catechism protests to Shockwave, "What, me? Wouldn't, uh... Ramjet be better? Or is his schedule too booked? Oh, I know, Dirge!" Dirge is scary, okay? "I'm just... I'm just... uhm... an inquisitor." As Blueshift warns her she'll be turned into a Sweep and even brandishes a headlaser and verniers, she gets up to her knees, throws her head back, and cries out, "NOOOOO!" (In certain countries, this is translated as "DO NOT WAAAAANT.") Then having a chunk of ice come flying at her snaps her back to attention, she she throws herself forward, under the ice sheet. As Catechism flings herself forward, she also snaps out her whip, aiming for Scourge's ankle. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Ankle Snare attack! -2 Combat: You took 9 damage. "By my calculations, you are more dangerous than Ramjet," replies Shockwave. "I believe Scourge has come to a similar conclusion on his own initiative." This is about as close as Shockwave comes to a compliment. Shockwave doesn't really like anyone and (as is obvious from his speech about Scourge /within earshot/ of Scourge himself) has no interest in anyone else's feelings. "Wait." Ramjet appears by descending into the shot. "I thought she was designated as a 'Cassetticon' now." He looks a little annoyed by that, his mouth forming a diagonal slash of irritability in the process. "Someone goes off and customizes themselves beyond the standard schematics and all of a sudden, they are some new form of life. By that ridiculous train of thought, that would eliminate me from being a Seeker and that is.." Ramjet chuffs, his angular nose flaring out as he tilts his cone back for a more haughty look. His arms fold over his chest, "..is ridiculous." His limited intelligence prevents him from coming up with a different adjective in the same sentence! "I concur," agrees Shockwave. "One could with ease ridicule such concepts in a humorous and socially entertaining way." "Wooo! Kick him Sweep's ass!" Swoop hollers from..somewhere. Not Shockwave, of course but someone else could. Scourge's ankle is snared by the whip, sending tendrils of crackling electricity bolting up his leg. "Why would I even want one such as you among my minions? You, Catechism, who alowed yourself to be /captured/ by the Autobots? Forcing us to trade a valuable prisoner to regain your freedom? Why would I even /want/ you?" Scourge replies, more so to the quickly-growing crowd of on-lookers than to Catechism(who is clearly in favour if not being a Sweep anyway) The lead Sweep's claws are brandished, and he dives in fiercely, bringing his laughably pink talons to bear as he strikes at Catechism with long, rending slashes. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his think pink attack! Catechism points out, "But Ramjet is the Air Commander. If I was /really/ more dangerous than Ramjet, I'd be Air Commander. And have a cone-shaped spaceship. Mmm, cone-shaped spaceship..." Her gaze becomes distant and faintly happy at the thought of her very own cone-shaped shapeship. Then Ramjet himself appears, speak of the Air Commander. She calls, sound rather frantic and distracted, "Oh, hello, Ramjet! The Cassetticon thing is... uh..." Wait, why is she filed as a Cassetticon? Wasn't that Galvatron's fault? And then yet another person distracts her, and it is... the voice of Swoop. Extremely perplexed, she answers the Dinobot, "...uh ... thanks-OW." As Scourge rends into her, spilling out a mixture of boiling lithium, liquid hydrogren, acid, and energon on the ice and snow, Catechism snaps, "Okay, that's it! I am turning off my audio sensors for the rest of this fight! I don't care if it is a disadvantage in combat - this is the kind of advantage I don't need!" Ah, silence. And ow. This still really hurts! She straightens herself up and snaps the lash out at Scourge's wrist this time. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Wrist Lashing attack! -1 Combat: You took 11 damage. Another painful burst of electricty rips up Scourge's arm, and illiciting faint wisps of smoke to curl up from underneath some of Scourge's armor panels. His steely gaze never leaves Catechism, and he is fine with her decision to cease listening to the idle, often /idiotic/ banter going on around them and this battle in the ice and snow. Even though the whip flickers like a live wire, Scourge is not afraid to grasp it, and use it to try and reel Catechism in like a hooked fish, and use his other hand to slash at Catechism's eyes. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his reel 'er in (Smash) attack! Combat: You took 3 damage from that attack. Combat: You have foolishly damaged your own Accuracy! "That is an effective maneuver which I have used successfully in the past," remarks Shockwave. "Yeah! Kick him ass!" Swoop hollers again. There is a bright glow of red light as Ramjet glares at Catechism. "Ngh," he replies in a flat but grunty noise. He is very particular about what does and does not constitute a Seeker! You've got to be true to your school. Sparing the shorter blue robot beside him a glance, Ramjet makes a face. "Blueshift, stop manhandling loose Sweep parts and wave your 'go Catechism' flag." He swings out, daring to see if Blueshift's superiority agility will fail him. Combat: Ramjet misses Blueshift with his This I command! (Punch) attack! Catechism is grabbed and reeled in, quite like a fish by an ice-fisher, indeed. Her optics are slashed in, and shards of red glass fall to the snow, strewn like rose petals. Her bared optical sensors spark and flicker, and she notes that she's taken an accuracy hit, between the damage and the sudden brightness of the ice wasteland. She cannot hear Swoop's encouragement, and she pay no mind to Ramjet's interactions with Blueshift, but she cranks up the voltage dial on her whip, as if daring Scourge to keep hold of THIS live wire. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Maximum Voltage attack! Combat: You took 10 damage. Combat: Catechism's attack has damaged your Velocity! Scourge is pretty quick to drop the whip as the voltage levels spike, but not before the volts and watt and amps course through his body, shorting out a few servos along the way. The bearded Decepticon doesn't back down, however, and gives Catechism no chance to recoup her strength or balance. He presses his attack, lunging in close, hoping to stay too close for Catechism to swing her long, sinuous whip. He may nto be able to use his headcannon to blast Catechism with acid rays, but that doesn't stop him from headbutting Catechism. Combat: Scourge misses Catechism with his headcannon headbutt (Kick) attack! What stops Scourge from headbutting Catechism is Catechism hauling herself the heck out of Scourge's way as he puts his head down for a headbutt. She steps off to the side and tries to wrap an arm around Scourge's neck to constrict it and lock it from underneath with her other arm, in a wicked move sometimes referred to as the guillotine, for reasons that are pretty obvious. Combat: Catechism misses Scourge with her Guillotine (Kick) attack! Scourge uses his forward momentum from his ill-aimed headbutt to carry himself forward, ducking into a tight roll and tumbling forward out of her grasp. He whirls around as he stands, sending wisps of snow into the air. He spreads his curved wings wide, and takes to the air, rising up high enough to bring his solid right boot to the right height for kicking Catechism in the chops. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his kick to the shops (Punch) attack! Rather than the chops, though, Scourge's boot lands in Catechism's already battered optics, further damaging her already failing vision. Is she going to have to turn her audios back on? Grimacing, Catechism goes for the whip in the snow or rather more a puddle as its voltage turns to heat to melt the ice around it. She picks it up, flicks it dry, and snaps it out at one of Scourge's wings to repay him for mangling her wings earlier, though the charge in the whip isn't what it could be. Catechism usually heavily favours ranged combat, and she isn't used to using the whip for extended periods of time. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Neutral. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Whiplash Whirlwind attack! -2 Combat: You took 7 damage. Combat: Catechism's attack has damaged your Strength! Blueshift seems to come alive, waving a flag that says "oG KateKKKistic" Ramjet looks pleased. For reasons unknown. While Scourge enjoys the feeling of his diamond-hard claws ripping through Autobots, he is also at a disadvantage when he cannot use his powerful lasers and disintegrator's. Instead of Scourge's wing, his left shoulder takes the brunt of Catechism's strike, flaying open the rounded shoulder module and sending more sparks into the frosty air. His left arm hangs limp for a moment until his systems can cope and bypass the damaged components. He lunges in again, claws first, his fingers splayed wide... But instead of long, rending slashes, Scourge attempts to dig deep into Catechism's armor, and rend apart her chest components. Shoxcannon looks like a giant floating gun. Shoxcannon is not very expressive. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his REND and TEAR attack! "You'd be a more popular despot if you crafted yourself a proper face, Shockwave." Ramjet observes auspiciously. Catechism's vision is still good enough to see Blueshift's, er... delightful little flag. It provides her a small amount of cheer in this desolate wasteland. But alas, this, too, distracts her! In a flash, her chest is torn into, spilling out avionics all around the frozen waste, and she decides it is time to put her head to work. Or rather, her damaged cone. As Scourge gets in close, she tries to bash her head into Scourge. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Cone Bash attack! -1 Combat: You took 11 damage. Combat: Catechism's attack has damaged your Strength! "It is a matter of principle," replies Shockwave, distracted by the fight. Scourge has no time to gloat as he spills Catechism's internal mechanisms out over the snowy landscape, and any intimidating gloating would of course fall on deaf ears in this case. It seems Catechism's cone is more intimidating than it appears, as the powerful, decisive cone bash smashes past Scourge's defenses. The cone impacts his crippled headcannon, crushing the weapon in it's path as the blow sunders Scourge's helmet and sends the Sweep sprawling, landing on the unforgiving ice below thier feet. No time is wasted before Scourge launches a counterattack, however, as the prone Sweep lashes out with both his legs, first with one swift kick then a second, more forceful one. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his double kick attack! -2 That kick knocks off one of Catechism's arm guns, and it goes skittering across the snow. Looking extremely put-out by the loss of her weapon, Catechism goes chasing it down, slipping and sliding on the icy surface. She snatches it up and then chases after Scourge, clearly intent on beating his face in with the back end of the rifle. That is what he gets for seperating a girl from her gun! Combat: Catechism misses Scourge with her Rifle Butt to the Face! attack! -2 "You used the wrong end!" shouts Blueshift Shoxcannon points out, "The other end is not permitted in this event." "Hnh. Rules." Ramjet mutters distastefully. "Bullets hit people. They are melee!" whines Blueshift Scourge tucks his wings close, and rolls aside as Catechism strikes downwards. The long, arduous fight in the frozen wasteland has left Scourge's reflexes slowed, but not so slow he cannot avoid the desperate strike as Catechism lashes out with the arm-rifle. Scourge rises to his feet, spreading his wings wide, casting him into shadow, a shadow peirced by his glowing red eyes. Once more the dreaded pink talons reach out, as Scourge strikes at Catechism's compromised chest armor with one clawed hand. Combat: Scourge misses Catechism with his Clawed Assault attack! -3 Catechism, thankfully, cannot hear Blueshift telling her that she's Doing It Wrong. She takes a few stumbling steps off to the left of Scourge to barely evade his dangerous claws and falls over into another snow bank. Catechism sits up a bit and shakes off some of the now. Frustrated, she just cranks back an arm and flings the rifle at Scourge. Perhaps it will do her more good that way, since it is useless to her now, otherwise. Combat: Catechism misses Scourge with her Flung Rifle (Punch) attack! Hot Spot moves north to the Nepsan North Pole. Hot Spot has left. Scourge watches Catechism land herself in another snowbank, and faint traces of amusement can be seen on his bearded face, like some vast, metal, nighmarish Santa Clause. his red optics twinkle as Catechism flings the rifle, and he deftly snatches it out of the air. Scourge looks over the gift briefly, figuring it will serve well enough as a bludgeoning weapon. He descends on Catechism, brandsihing the rifle like a club. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his rifle-club (Kick) attack! Catechism is having no dice at all right now with hitting. Maybe she really should turn her audios back on. But having her audios on is what caused so many problems! Then, for Christmas in August, Scourge renders unto her... a bludgeoning with her own rifle. The ignominity! She gets back to her feet, icicles starting to form on the cooler parts of her metal frame, what with all the water and ice being throw around. Getting an idea, Catechism reaches down for an icicle, snap it off, and tries to impale Scourge with the chilly stake, in true vampire-hunting form. Pity she's not fighting Ratbat instead. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Jack Frost's Revenge attack! -2 Combat: You took 8 damage. Combat: You are very aware that your life is in danger! Combat: Catechism's attack has damaged your Agility! Scourge's chest is pierced by the icy blade, rending even his advanced armour, driven by Catechism's strength and desire to win. Sparks leap from his broken chest, and Scourge's clawed fingers struggle to remove the ice peircing his body. His gaze turns to a glare as Catechism strikes so deep with something so simple as a piece of ice. A snarl escapes his mouth as Scourge lunges at Catechism, perhaps for the final time, as his Unicron-given talons lash out at Catechism's broken, rended frame, striking with feral ferocity. Combat: Scourge sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Scourge misses Catechism with his Clawed Assault attack! Catechism is, strangely enough, forced to conclude that she she needs to pretend that Scourge is Ratbat more often. She ignites her boot-jets, which sputter and protest, and vaults over Scourge's swipes and clear over Scourge. As she hits the ice behind, she ducks and rolls, all sorts of parts falling out all over the place, but it does put her back in range to grab her whip again. There is barely any charge left, but she snaps it out at Scourge all the same. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Whip Ping attack! -4 Combat: You took 3 damage. Combat: Catechism's attack has damaged your Agility! The whip has always struke home, and now is no exception; The whip crackles across Scourge's back and wings, leaving long scorch marks in it's wake. The Sweep turns to face Catechism, glaring at the other Decepticon and baring his teeth. Scourge steps closer, slowly but surely, damaged but no less threatening, and swinging a crunched-up fist at Catechism's side with the damaged optic. Combat: Scourge strikes Catechism with his haymaker attack! -2 Yeah, those wings are kind of batty, right? That's what Catechism grimly tells herself as she continues her fight against the white land, in the eerie silence of not having her audios on. As Scourge manages to hit her in the optic yet again, that optic fails, and suddenly, the world goes flat. She takes a few shaky steps back as terror grabs ahold of her, and she transforms and launches into the sky, her mangled wings barely able to sustain her. She's almost ready to just blast away into the depths of space when she remembers something: if she loses, Blueshift and Shockwave will make her into a Sweep. So the F-35 heads back, studying Scourge, wondering what edge she could possibly get on one forged by Unicron. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Protected. Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. Combat: Catechism analyzes Scourge for weaknesses. Scourge sweeps the air with his batty wings as he takes to the air after Catechism, flying up to close in on the larger jet. Catechism no doubt is biding her time for a more decisive strike, but Scourge isn't going to wait for that to happen. The bearded Decepticon swoops after the fleeing/analyzing jet, and strikes at Catechism's engines with his claws, hoping to destroy the jet's propulsion and grounding her. Combat: Scourge strikes XF-35B Astral Lightning with his engine-ectomy attack! -1 XF-35B Astral Lightning crashes and burns out of the sky, transforming as she tumbles. She manages to land hard on her other rifle. Why won't she die? Catechism wonders that herself. It seems like it would be an awful lot easier than putting up with all of this. They could make her corpse up to look like a Sweep. What would it matter? She's be dead. She wouldn't care. She couldn't care. But Catechism has to keep trying. So, one last time for old times' sake, she gets to her feet and blasts off after Scourge, trying to nail him with a roundhouse kick. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Catechism strikes Scourge with her Roundhouse Kick (Kick) attack! Combat: You took 7 damage. Combat: Catechism's attack has damaged your Agility! Combat: Scourge falls to the ground, unconscious. "Holy crap" Blueshift utters. "Cate is hardcore!" And then he wanders over to the fallen Scourge, and begins duck-taping the head-laser and verniers onto him. "Yesssssss" "As I had calculated," intones Shockwave. "An unfortunate setback for the Sweeps. Catechism, having single-handedly defeated Scourge in the so-called 'ring of honor,' you are spared from being reassigned to Scourge's command. What would you suggest be done with Scourge?" A gumby appears behind Blueshift, holding a cone in his hands. Catechism can't hear what Shockwave is saying, remember? She turned off her audios. Catechism crashes down knee-deep into the snow, utterly exhausted, every last system in her ready to fail. She looks over at Scourge's fallen form, feeling oddly empty and numb. Maybe it's just the cold. She looks over at Shockwave. Huh, is he trying to talk to her? Catechism wearily whacks the side of her head a few times, turning her audios back on, and she asks, "Sorry, what were you saying, sir?" Scourge's chances of defeating the tenacious Catechism are shattered as she lads one final kick on Scourge, combined with the advanced data on just where to land the final blow to end the battle once and for all. The swift kick cracks Scourge's helmet(his head is his weak spot!) and the Sweep leader is send crashing downwards, to sprawl limply on the ice below. Shoxcannon repeats himself precisely, as if he was replaying a .wav file. He probably is. "As I had calculated, an unfortunate setback for the Sweeps. Catechism, having single-handedly defeated Scourge in the so-called 'ring of honor,' you are spared from being reassigned to Scourge's command. What would you suggest be done with Scourge?" Catechism hunches down and stares over at the gumby with the cone and then looks over at Scourge of the cracked helmet, getting the obvious implication. Still jittery, she stutters, "Uhm... ahh... why don't we go with putting him up in a nice suite in one of the ski chalets? He clearly needs some time to, uhm... recalibrate his systems and reflect. Maybe the skiiing will do him some good? Teach him the agility needed to, uhm, not get kicked in the head?" "Your merciful nature will eventually prove your downfall," replies Shockwave. "Decepticons: Remove Scourge and install him in a ski chalet for rehabilitation." And later, when Scourge awakens in the ski chalet, he will tell no one of his nightmare of waking up as a conehead. Shockwave says, "Catechism has demonstrated her prowess in hand to hand combat, defeating the leader of the Sweeps. Appropriate fealty is due." Catechism gets to her feet, groaning, and she points out, "Nuh-uh. If I said, 'Oh yeah, put a cone on his head and tie him to the keel of a garbage barge,' then all the Sweeps would be /furious/ at me, and while I can take any /one/ of them in a fight, getting jumped by /all/ of them wouldn't really be conducive to my continued survival." Her voice drops to a hushed tone, she raises and hand, and she asides to Shockwave, "Besides, Scourge will look stupid skiing." Catechism says, "Argh... uhm... yeah. I hereby declare all Sweeps to be assigned to ski training! It will, uhm, improve their agility?" "Your logic is not entirely unsound," replies Shockwave, engaging his thrusters to rise up and fly away. Catechism watches Shockwave go, her neck aching as she looks up, and she wonders if that was half a compliment. Then, she slogs through the snow, a bit closer to the gumby with the cone, and she flips an energon goody to him, concluding lowly, "But if that cone ends up in bed with Scourge? I'll look the other way." And the strains of the Godfather start to play. "But but" whines Blueshift, standing over Scourge. "I was going to turn him into a sweep"